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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 644 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 644

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                     September 9, 2014.
Whereas section 1035 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
        2014 (Public Law 113-66; 10 U.S.C. 801 note) requires the Secretary of 
        Defense to notify the appropriate committees of Congress not later than 
        30 days before the transfer or release of any individual detained at 
        United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (hereinafter referred 
        to as ``GTMO'');
Whereas on May 31, 2014, the Department of Defense transferred five Taliban 
        detainees held at GTMO to the State of Qatar;
Whereas according to declassified United States government documents, the five 
        detainees were all senior Taliban leaders: Abdul Haq Wasiq was the 
        Taliban Deputy Minister of Intelligence, Mullah Norullah Noori was the 
        Taliban military commander at Mazar-e-Sharif, Mullah Mohammad Fazl was 
        the Taliban Deputy Minister of Defense, Khairullah Said Wai Khairkwa was 
        the Taliban Minister of Interior, and Mohammad Nabi Omari was the 
        Taliban communications chief and border chief;
Whereas these five senior Taliban leaders have had associations with al-Qaeda or 
        have engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition 
        partners;
Whereas these five senior Taliban detainees held leadership positions within the 
        Taliban in Afghanistan when it provided safehaven for al-Qaeda to 
        conduct planning, training, and operations for the September 11, 2001, 
        attacks;
Whereas in 2010, after an extensive evaluation meant to identify detainees who 
        could be transferred out of the detention facility at GTMO, the Obama 
        administration determined that these five should remain in United States 
        detention because they were ``too dangerous to transfer'' because each 
        ``poses a high level of threat that cannot be mitigated sufficiently 
        except through continued detention'';
Whereas the President has stated that there is ``absolutely'' the ``possibility 
        of some'' of these former Taliban detainees ``trying to return to 
        activities that are detrimental to'' the United States;
Whereas other former GTMO detainees that were transferred have become leaders of 
        al-Qaeda affiliates actively plotting against the United States and are 
        ``involved in terrorist or insurgent activities'';
Whereas Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel testified before the Committee on Armed 
        Services of the House of Representatives that, pursuant to an agreement 
        with Qatar, the five former detainees transferred in May would not be 
        allowed to leave Qatar for one year, but after that date there would be 
        no restrictions on the movement of the former detainees;
Whereas notwithstanding the fact that Qatar is an important regional ally, after 
        another GTMO detainee was transferred to Qatar in 2008, Qatar apparently 
        had difficulty implementing the assurances Qatar gave the United States 
        in connection with that detainee's transfer;
Whereas senior officials in the Obama administration negotiated, through 
        intermediaries in the government of Qatar, with the Taliban, and with 
        the Haqqani Network, which the Department of State has designated as a 
        foreign terrorist organization, and which held Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl 
        captive;
Whereas Secretary Hagel testified to the Committee on Armed Services of the 
        House of Representatives that negotiations for the transfer of the five 
        Taliban detainees in exchange for Sergeant Bergdahl began in January 
        2014;
Whereas the General Counsel of the Department of Defense signed a memorandum of 
        understanding with the Attorney General of the State of Qatar on May 12, 
        2014, regarding the security conditions for transfer of these five 
        Taliban detainees;
Whereas in addition to an unknown number of officials of Qatar, senior Obama 
        administration officials acknowledge that approximately 80 or 90 
        individuals within the Obama administration were knowledgeable of the 
        planned transfer of the five Taliban detainees prior to their transfer;
Whereas Congress was not notified of the transfer until June 2, 2014, three days 
        after such individuals were transferred, and 33 days after the date on 
        which such notification was required by section 1035 of the National 
        Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113-66; 10 
        U.S.C. 801 note) and section 8111 of the Department of Defense 
        Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law 113-76);
Whereas the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the President and other 
        senior Obama administration officials, did not comply with the 30-day 
        notification requirement;
Whereas article II, section 3 of the Constitution stipulates that the President 
        ``shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed'';
Whereas on January 15, 2009, the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of 
        Justice acknowledged that, under article I of the Constitution, Congress 
        possesses legislative authority concerning the detention and release of 
        enemy combatants;
Whereas the Obama administration has complied with the law in all other detainee 
        transfers from GTMO since the date of the enactment of prevailing law; 
        and
Whereas in 2011, after leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives 
        expressed their bipartisan opposition to the prospective transfer of 
        these Taliban detainees from GTMO, senior Obama administration officials 
        assured these Senators and Members of Congress that there would be no 
        exchange of Taliban detainees for Sergeant Bergdahl, and that any 
        transfer of Taliban detainees that might otherwise occur would be part 
        of a reconciliation effort with the Taliban and the Government of 
        Afghanistan and that such a transfer would only take place in 
        consultation with Congress pursuant to law: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,
     That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns and disapproves of the failure of the Obama 
        administration to comply with the lawful 30-day statutory reporting 
        requirement in executing the transfer of five senior members of the 
        Taliban from detention at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, 
        Cuba;
            (2) expresses grave concern about the national security risks 
        associated with the transfer of five senior Taliban leaders, including 
        the national security threat to the American people and the Armed Forces 
        of the United States;
            (3) expresses grave concern over the repercussions of negotiating 
        with terrorists, even when conducted through intermediaries, and the 
        risk that such negotiations with terrorists may further encourage 
        hostilities and the abduction of Americans;
            (4) stipulates that further violations of the law set forth in 
        section 1035 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
        2014 (Public Law 113-66; 10 U.S.C. 801 note) and section 8111 of the 
        Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law 113-76) are 
        unacceptable;
            (5) expresses that these actions have burdened unnecessarily the 
        trust and confidence in the commitment and ability of the Obama 
        administration to constructively engage and work with Congress; and
            (6) expresses relief that Sergeant Bergdahl has returned safely to 
        the United States.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.
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